Ben Edlund

Ben Edlund
Edlund atSan Diego Comic-Conin July 2011.
Born	(1968-09-20)September 20, 1968 Pembroke, Massachusetts,U.S.
Area(s)	Writer, Artist
Awards	Inkpot Award(2012)

Ben Edlund(/ˈɛdlənd/;born September 20, 1968) is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, television producer, and television director. He is best known as the creator of thesatiricalsuperherocharacterthe Tick.

Background

Edlund was born and raised inPembroke, Massachusetts.He attendedSilver Lake Regional High Schooland was voted by classmates as "Most Artistic" for both the 8th grade and 12th grade yearbook superlatives. At the age of 17, without a driver's license, Edlund was forced to ride with friends and frequent their favorite hangouts. One particular destination, theNew England Comicsstore, spawned Edlund's interest in the comic book medium, which later launched his art and writing career.

The Tick

While still in high school, he began developing his satirical superhero, the Tick, who became the mascot of the New England Comics newsletter. Edlund was invited to create acomic book seriesbased on the character by New England Comics when, due to a production mix-up, the publisher needed a new title fast. Edlund graduated from high school in 1986 and continued to draw his popular character while majoring in film atMassachusetts College of Art.The debut issue ofThe Ticktook a year and a half for Edlund to develop.

Edlund at a comics convention in the early 1990s

While still in college, Edlund was approached by Kiscom, a New Jersey–based toy licensing and design company, who wanted to develop merchandising off the Tick.Sunbow Entertainment,a New York–based animation company, paired Edlund up with writer Richard Libmann-Smith. After having their premiere episode turned down byFox,the duo got approval with a refined version.

In 1994,The Tickdebuted asan animated serieson Fox and lasted three seasons. The program led to varioustoy and merchandisingdeals. The limited scope of merchandising compared to other contemporaneous animated series led Edlund to express contentment in his character as a "much more sincere proposal."The Tick appeared on the Fox network in late 2001 with a short-livedlive-action series.

Screenwriting

In the late 1990s, Edlund collaborated withindiefilmmakerLisa Hammerand her husband,Eric Hammer,on the filmCrawley.The Hammers later worked with him again during the creation ofThe Venture Bros.which draws inspiration fromThe Tick.

Beginning in 2002, Edlund was employed byJoss WhedonatMutant Enemy,first as part of the original writing staff for the space/Western hybrid seriesFirefly,which was cancelled during its first season, and then on the final season ofAngel,where he wrote and also directed theHugo Awardnominated episode, "Smile Time".Edlund credits Whedon with teaching him to create television character arcs.Edlund also had a hand in creating characters for Whedon's successful web seriesDoctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog,to which he contributed "Bad Horse" and the henchman sidekick "Moist".

In 2005, Edlund served as co-executive producer onPoint Pleasant.He also wrote theStar Wars: The Clone Warssecond season episode "Grievous Intrigue".

Beginning in 2006, he served as executive producer, writer, and occasionally director on the TV seriesSupernaturalfrom season 2 (2006–07) to season 8 (2012–13). On that show, there was a character, a writer/prophet namedChuck Shurley,who went by the pen name "Carver Edlund", a combination of Edlund's last name and that ofJeremy Carver,anotherSupernaturalproducer and writer. The writers named another important character after executive producer Robert Singer.

In 2013, Edlund left theSupernaturalwriting staff to join the second season ofSupernaturalcreatorEric Kripke's new television series,Revolution.It was cancelled after that season. He then joinedGothamas a producer and writer for the first season (2014–15). In 2015, he became a writer for the second season of the SonyPlayStation Networkoriginal seriesPowers.

Podcast and radio appearances

Edlund appeared onKen Reid'sTV Guidance Counselorpodcast on May 25, 2016.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Credit	Notes	Ref.
1998	A, B, C... Manhattan	Writer
2000	Titan A.E.	Screenplay	WithJohn AugustandJoss Whedon

Television

Year	Title	Writer	Creator	Director	Producer	Executive producer	Notes	Ref.
1994–1996	The Tick: The Animated Series	Yes	Yes	No	Co-producer	No	Wrote 24 episodes
2001–2002	The Tick	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Wrote 3 episodes
2002	Firefly	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Wrote 2 episodes
2003–2004	Angel	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Wrote 2 episodes
2004–2006	The Venture Bros.	Yes	No	No	No	No	Wrote 3 episodes (1 teleplay, 2 stories)
2005	The Inside	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Wrote 1 episode
	Point Pleasant	Yes	No	No	No	Co-executive	Wrote 3 episodes
2006–2013	Supernatural	Yes	No	Yes	Consulting	Co-executive	Wrote 24 episodes; directed 2 episodes
2010	Star Wars: The Clone Wars	Yes	No	No	No	No	Wrote 1 episode
2013–2014	Revolution	Yes	No	No	Consulting	No	Wrote 4 episodes
2014–2015	Gotham	Yes	No	No	No	Co-executive	Wrote 2 episodes
2016	Powers	Yes	No	No	No	Co-executive	Wrote 1 episode
2016–2018	The Tick	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Wrote 6 episodes

External links

• Ben EdlundatIMDb